


Downtime

by autobotscoutriella



Series: Archaeometric Dating [2]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Community: fandomweekly, F/F, vague card games
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-31
Updated: 2019-01-31
Packaged: 2019-10-19 17:20:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17605619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/autobotscoutriella/pseuds/autobotscoutriella
Summary: Easy games can still be fun, if you're playing with a good friend.





	Downtime

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written for the challenge "Victory" on [FandomWeekly](https://fandomweekly.dreamwidth.org/). These two are so much fun to write they had to get their own series.

"And three...two...one." Greenlight counted out the last of her cards into the correct pattern triumphantly, slightly surprised that it had worked out that neatly. "I win!"

Lancer mock-groaned and set her five remaining cards down, grinning ruefully. "Okay, what's your secret? Come on, out with it. There's lucky, and then there's best three-out-of-five in twenty minutes."

"Secret? There's no secret." Greenlight found herself blushing, and wished for the billionth time that there was some way to turn off that damn reflex. "I--I have a lot of practice, that's all. I used to play it with a friend of mine, back at the Academy. My roommate, the last couple years. She knew all the tricks. I never won anything playing against her."

"She obviously taught you well." Lancer gathered up the cards and started shuffling them, slender fingers moving with dazzling speed. Dark plating stood out against gold handguards and the blue flickering patterns on the cards, making every movement distinct despite the pace and showing off a few tiny scrapes along the gold plating…

Greenlight realized after a second that she was staring, and scrambled to start collecting her own cards. She fumbled, dropped a few, and hoped Lancer hadn't noticed.

"Yeah. She--she did. Turns out her mentor, before the Academy, had worked in some...ah...shady bars. Taught her every trick that's allowed under any version of game rules." Remembering too-late nights spent with high-grade and a dusty old holocard deck, Greenlight couldn't help a wistful smile. "And a few that aren't, but she wouldn't teach me those."

Lancer bent to pick up one of the cards Greenlight had missed. "Maybe I'll have to pick up a few of those from you someday." She winked, holding out a hand for the rest of the cards. "So...your friend, she still around?"

"No...not anymore." Realizing how that sounded, Greenlight added quickly, "Alive, as far as I know. She was Camien. Didn't want to get involved in the fight and moved back there when the war started. I can't blame her, really--I thought it was going to end quickly and then before I knew it it just...didn't." She realized mid-sentence that she was rambling, and cut herself off with an internal grimace. _Stop it. We don't get that many chances to be happy, and you're ruining it._

Lancer looked down at her cards for a moment, seemingly unsure of what to say. "I--I'm sorry. I'm sure you miss her."

"Yeah. Yeah, I do, but I'm sure she's happy there. And, you know, we were always going to go our separate ways. I mean, academy roommates, you don't live with them forever, right?" Greenlight tried for a smile, and suddenly found herself tripping over her words. "You remind me of her, actually." _Where did that come from? You think they're both hot, that's what makes you think they're alike. Slow it down, girl._

"Oh." Lancer seemed to think about that for a moment, then offered a bright smile. "High praise, all things considered. Maybe you'll get to introduce me to her someday."

"That'd be nice. Maybe if we win this war, we'll see people come back." If only that was as easy, and as painless, as winning a card game.

"You mean _when_ we win the war," Lancer corrected cheerfully. " Now, if I remember correctly, the bet was that whoever loses buys the next round of drinks, and that's me. Care to join me?" She extended an arm, which Greenlight accepted without thinking about it. "And while we're drinking, maybe you can teach me some of those tricks so next time you get to buy me a drink. Fair?"

"Fair." The moment of wistful sadness dissipated as quickly as it had come, and Greenlight found herself genuinely smiling this time. "I'll take it easy on you next time."

"You'd better not. Unearned victories are boring," Lancer teased, pulling her up to the makeshift bar (built out of dangerously unsteady, slightly uneven props and a single sheet of metal). "Next time, I'll win it fair and square. For now, what are you having?"

Fifteen minutes later, with victory high-grade in hand and Lancer animatedly describing the time a waverider with a pod of younglings had gotten through an open window into her first-year radiometric dating course, Greenlight took a moment to be thankful she hadn't accepted Lunar Storm's offer to leave the planet after all.

It would have been a shame to miss this.


End file.
